Holding tray for cuff links and tie bar



' May 26, 195 J. MIZRAHI ETAL 2,888,137

HOLDING TRAY FOR CUFF LINKS AND TIE BAR Filed March 28, 1958 INVENTORS. JACK MIZRAHI BIg ORMAN ZWIEBEL AFTER Viz .States Patent .0

3;?921 .noLDnsG FOR'CUFE LINKS .ANl) TIE BAR Jagk.Mizrahi, :Brooklyn,,..and Norman Zwiebel,

Application March 28, 1958, Seri al No. 724,733

4 4 Claims. (cam-7s Thisinventionurelates. to ,the art of jewelry display ca and particularly concernsa casefor displaying and ,fjretainin'g 'articles,Qoftjewelry'such as cufi links, tie cl'asp H and the like in a secure'andorderly fashion, 'a'sfwell'as ,Qdisplaycases for .other varied and sundry consumer I'inerchandi'se.

[principal object of the .invention is to.provide a fitted type'of case for tie clasp, cuff "linksand the like.

A further,object is to provide afitted case provided withk'a 'isemi -r'igid' tray' liaving' .rgrooves ,so'jshaped" that f .,cu"ff IinkscanQbe snapped into'the. grooves .A' furth'er object is to provide arfitted case of the character described l'further provided l with a ridge so aped that a tie CIaspcan be engaged thereon and there ed of ai shet 'of plasticj material vwhich, may or may .coatedlwithilo'cking.or'othersoft velvet-like mate- .A pluralityfof hgroolves .j arefform ed in one ridge undercut portions so disposed that' the posts or bars of cuff linkspanghe snapped into.the,g ro o ves and there held securely. A further ridge is provided for engaging a tie clasp thereon. This tray may be ued as a displa W ,un ett .arfidessfi wek a spl y y a ..ret ailer in a sh owcase or on a counter for .presenta- "t s t stpmer ,Th .art q esa s d tham y .ar' h ws, qbe tadyaata rin. t l ge p ition .T a

customer may pick up the display case for examination of the jewelry and;3the case maytbe shipped between v arious. points by normal means without disturbing the contents thereof, since each'piece of jewelry" is securely held therein.

The jewelry may be sold to the customer with the case so that he can keep his jewelry in an orderly and organized fashion among his personal effects. The case can be adapted to hold ladies jewelry and other varied and sundry consumer merchandise, as well as serving as a container for mens jewelry.

For further comprehension of the invention, and of the objects and advantages thereof, reference will be had to the following description and accompanying draw lugs, and to the appended claims in which the various novel features of the invention are more particularly set forth.

In the accompanying drawings forming a material part of this disclosure:

Fig. l is a top plan view of a case embodying the invention, the cover being removed and a tie clasp being shown in dash lines.

Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken on lines 2--2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken on lines 3--3 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a bottom plan view of the tray.

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the case with portions of the cover broken away to. show internal parts, a tie claspand a cliff link being shown in display position.

.Referrin-g. to the drawings, .there is shown albox or case. having a generally rectangular lower, hollow portion 10 with a closed bottom 15 andwith sides 11, 12, 13 and..1 4, and being open. at the top. Thebox may be ,made of cardboard, plastic material, metal, or other suitable rigidlmaterial. Thebox may be provided with a cover l6 adapted to fit snuglyover the bottom portion and easily removable therefrom. In the hollowbottom portion is snugly fitted a tray 18. -The tray has sides 11 12 13 and 14 which abut the sides of the bottom portion 10. The traymay, have its sides cemented to the sides of the box portionlt), but preferably the tray is .forrned of a rigid or semi-rigid plastic'material. The

sides 'rnay normally have a. slight outward flare and will .be compressed inwardly "slightly to fit into' the bottom flocking, or similarumeans. This type of layer provides alsoft surface toprotect thefine finish of the jewelry ,and show it off tobest advantage' Thetray may be molded or' shaped with an outer rectangular frame 24.

' Extending across the. frame is afridge26 dividing the trayinto compartments 28 and 3. ,Inthe larger compartment 30 is .an upstanding-inclined. ridge. 32 extending part way across the. compartment betweenthesides of :the frame." One end34of theridgehas anfinefedge 5 so that the arms ,ofa-bent flexible tie clasp .38 can be inserted onto the ridge 32.

Theridge has, an outer orfront flat wa1l 40 inclined to the bottom ofthebox and to the side 11, which may be considered. the front side .of the box. The tie clasp is supported on the ridge in an inclined position ofabout .6 0',to7 0 with respect to .bottomlS. so that its broad 'side is fully visible when the box is opened. Ridge 32 extends ina wedge-likefashion from the fine edge 34. The topf 'of ther'idge has a broad portion 42 overhanging the wedge portion 44 so that the tie clasp can only be remQvedHbyfs liding it'longitudinally off theridge or by ppiening the spring clasp of the. tie clasp .by manual. pressure." .Th'e'tie' clasp is thus securely held and cannot with 'the'tops 8f sides 1144'; Frame 24is' inset below the tops of the sides of the box as clearly shown in Figs. 2-4.

Ridge 26 is formed with two generally T-shaped grooves 48. The cross portion of the groove is indicated at 50 and is formed in the compartment 28. The elongated shank portion 51 of the groove is irregular in shape having a sharp inwardly protruding point 52 inter mediate its ends on one side thereof and an inwardly extending blunted point 54 on the opposite side adjacent the cross portion 50. A cuff link 56, having a front plate 58 and post 60 and a crossbar 62, is shown seated in one of the T-grooves in Fig. 5. The other T-groove is empty. The crossbar fits snugly in the crossportion 50 and the post 60 fits into the shank portion of the groove.

,To insert the post into the shank portion of the groove it is forced past the points 52 and 54. The material of the tray is semi-rigid and yields to permit the post to pass and then the points spring back to their originally overhanging position. Thus, the post 60 snaps into the shank portion of the groove and is there retained securely. Some force is required to extract the cult link from its seated position in the T-groove. Plate 58 is supported in an inclined position in compartment 30 and is fully visible from the front side of the box when the cover 16 is removed. This provides an effective display and is a convenience to the customer in examining the jewelry prior to purchase. The display arrangement is also useful to the owner who can examine and select the jewelry for wear if desired from the organized arrangement of the jewelry in its case.

The soft cover 22 of the flexible base layer 20 of the tray can be applied by spraying a fibrous flocking thereon with a suitable adhesive or by other suitable means.

It is to be understood that the box and tray 18 may be fabricated as a single unit.

While we have illustrated and described the preferred embodiment of our invention, it is to be understood that we do not limit ourselves to the precise construction herein disclosed and that various changes and modifications may be made within the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim as new, and desire to secure by United States Letters Patent is:

1. A jewelry case comprising a generally rectangular box portion having an open top and flat sides extending perpendicular thereto, a generally rectangular tray having sides frictionally engaging the sides of the box portion, said tray being formed of plastic sheet material and formed with an outer rectangular frame portion, a ridge extending transversely across said frame portion, there being two compartments formed on opposite sides of the ridge, one of the compartments having further short spaced recesses, each of the short recesses defining the crossportion of a generally T-shaped groove, said groove having a shank portion with resilient portions extending inwardly from opposite sides thereof for engaging the post of a cuff link, said short recess retaining the crossbar of the cuff link and one of the first-named compartments retaining the plate portion of the cuff link.

2. A jewelry case, comprising a generally rectangular tray having a ridge thereon, a compartment on one side of the ridge, a compartment on the other side of the ridge, said ridge having a generally T-shaped groove therein, said groove having a cross portion in the firstnamed compartment and a shank portion extending to the second-named compartment, said shank portion formed with inwardly extending longitudinally spaced points on opposite sides thereof, said tray having a short ridge formed in the second-named compartment, said short ridge having a fine edge and a wedge-shaped portion, the top of the short ridge being broad and extending over said wedge-shaped portion, said short ridge being inclined to an adjacent side and bottom of the tray whereby a tie clasp may be displayed and may be removed from the short ridge by sliding it past said fine edge or by opening the spring clasp of the tie clasp by manual pressure.

3. A jewelry case comprising a generally rectangular box portion having an open top and flat sides extending perpendicularly thereto, a generally rectangular tray having sides frictionally engaging the sides of the box portion, said tray being formed of plastic sheet material and formed with an outer rectangular frame portion, a ridge extending transversely across said frame portion, there being two compartments formed on opposite sides of the ridge, one of the compartments having short spaced recesses, each of the short recesses defining the cross portion of a generally T-shaped groove, said groove having a shank portion with resilient portions extending inwardly rom opposite sides thereof for engaging the post of a cuff link, said short recess retaining the crossbar of the cuff link and one compartment retaining the plate portion of the cuff link, said plastic sheet material being covered with a soft fibrous layer, the other compartment having a short ridge formed therein, said short ridge being inclined to the bottom of said box portion and extending to a level parallel with the tops of said sides of the box portion, said frame portion being located below the tops of said sides.

4. A jewelry case, comprising a generally rectangular tray having a ridge thereon with a pair of compartments on opposite sides of the ridge, said ridge having a generally T-shaped groove therein, said groove having a cross portion in one compartment and a shank portion extending to the other compartment, said shank portion being formed with inwardly extending longitudinally spaced points on opposite sides thereof, said tray having a short ridge formed in the other of said compartments, said short ridge having a fine edge and a Wedge-shaped portion, the top of the short ridge being broad and extending over said wedge-shaped portion, said tray being formed as a uniform structure of a semin'gid material, said points being resilient to yield and permit the post of a cuff link to pass and then spring back to retain the cuff link in the tray.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 888,026 Moore May 19, 1908 2,630,914 Bekoff Mar. 10, 1953 ,709,517 Young May 31, 1955 2,788,123 Levis Apr. 9, 1957 FOREIGN PATENTS 98,732 Sweden Apr. 23, 1940 

